Lubricating natural and artificial fibers



Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE' LUBRICATING NATURALAND ARTIFICIAL FIBERS No Drawing. Application July 1, 1933, SerialNo..678,728

7 Claims. (Cl. 28-1) The present invention relates to lubrication andprotection of yarns, threads, filaments, textile fibers or the likeconsisting wholly or partially of natural or artificial materials.

After the yarn, thread, or filament has been spun or formed and thefinal product finished, it is subjected to considerable physical wearduring the various knitting, weaving, braiding, winding and othertextile treatments or operations which it must undergo. Thus, beforegoing into various processes such as weaving, knitting, braiding,

winding, or coning, the yarns, threads, or filaments are oftenpreviously treated for their protection with oily treating liquids whichform a protective film over their surface and which have somelubricating properties. So treating the yarn, threads, or filamentstends to prevent damage to them during the operations mentioned, duringwhich operations the yarn, threads, or filaments are usually exposed tocomparatively high tensions. For economic reasons, such an oil treatmentof the yarn, thread, or filament is made while they are in the dry stateand during the winding operations of the original yarn package.

Coning and winding oils heretofore described have the defects thatyarns, threads, or filaments treated with such mixtures require either athorough scouring before the yarn, thread, or filament is dyed, or theinclusion in the oil of such a large amount (at least over 25%) ofsulfonic acid salts of mineral oils or other known emulsifying agents asto reduce the lubricating properties of the oil to such an extent thatit is impracticable for commercial use.

Among the objects of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved method and composition of the character described above forlubricating and protecting yarn, thread, and filaments, and an improvedprotected and lubricated product.

An improvement of the composition of the present invention over knowncompositions consists in that, by the admixture of a suitablecombination of alkali metallic and organic base soaps hereinafterdescribed with mineral oil sulfonic acid salts and mineral oil, a comingoil and/or winding oil with much higher lubricating properties isobtained than has heretofore been possible, and in which any detrimentaland undesirable features which might be attributed to the asdiphenylamine, resorcinol, phenol, or hydroquinone.

Among the further 'objects of the invention is the provision of a methodwhich comprises protecting and lubricating fabric, yarn, thread,filaments, or textile fibers, artificial as well as natural, duringmechanical operations upon them and dyeing the said materials, whichmethod does' not require the removal of the lubricating and protectingagent from the said materials in a separate operation prior to contactof said materials with dyeing agents. The invention may be applied tonatural fibers, fabric, thread or yarn, such as cotton, silk, etc., orto artificial fabrics,

yarn, threads, or filaments such as viscose silk,

cellulose acetate silk, cuprammonia and nitro silks and the like, ormixtures thereof, eliminating the heretofore necessary step of securing.

According to the present invention the fabric, yarn, thread or filamentis impregnated with or has applied to it, in any suitable manner, acomposition consisting essentially of a mixture of suitable mineral oillubricant, a suitable alkali metal soap-like emulsifying agent such asthe sodium or potassium soap of oleic acid, triethanolamine soap ofoleic acid, and mahogany sulfonates or mineral oil sulfonates such asmay be obtained by treating crude mineral oil stocks or naphthas withconcentrated or fuming sulfuric acid and reacting upon the obtainedsulfonic acids with an alkali metal hydroxide such as sodium hydroxide.These mineral oil sulfonates or mahogany sulfonates are well known andtherefore need no detailed description here. It is preferable, however,to employ purified sulfonates because of their lighter color andgenerally more acceptacle operation. As sulfonates may also be used thealkali metal salts of the sulfonic acids obtained by allowing an excessof. sulfuric acid to act upon an aromatic hydrocarbon, for example,naphthalene, or benzene, in the presence of oleic acid, such sulfonicacids being sometimes known as Twitchell reagent, and the term mineraloil sulfonate as used herein is used as including these reagents as wellas true mahogany or mineral oil sulfonates.

A further part of the present invention consists in utilizing in theabove described composition a free fatty acid, such as oleic acid, whichis particularly useful to make the soaps used as described abovedissolve completely and clearly, the probabilities being that the addedfree fatty acid counteracts hydrolysis of the soaps used. A stillfurther part of the invention consists in adding to $1. mixture ofmineral oil, soaps and mineral oil sulfonates, solvents for potassiumsoaps, which are as a rule diflicult to prepare in the form of a clearsolution, and 'for this purpose the following solvents may be used:monoethylether of diethyleneglycol (carbitol) monobutylether of ethyleneglycol (butyl cellosolve) monobutylether of diethyleneglycol (butylcarbitol), etc.

As mineral oil any acid free, clear, colorless, or slightly coloredmineral lubricating oil may be used. A chemically inert and stablemineral lubricating or parafiin oil from 30 seconds Saybolt viscosity(100 F.) up may be used. The viscosity of the oil may be even as high asseconds Saybolt viscosity. However, a mineral oil with a viscositybetween 30 and 70 Saybolt acts very satisfactorily. The so called whiteoils, which are purified mineral lubricating oils, may be advantageouslyemployed as the mineral oil.

The composition may be prepared by intimately mixing the variousingredients in the desired proportions, and as examples of variouscompositions, ranges of proportions, and what are now believed to bepreferred proportions, the following are given; but it is to beunderstood that the inven+ tion is not limited to these specificexamples:

Example 1 Preferred Ranges of proportions proportions Percent PercentMineral oil, #30 60 40-75 Sodium salt of mineral oil sulionic acid"; 95-14 Potmsium oleate 16 5-20 Triethanolamine soap aci 9. 7 4-30 Oleicacid 0. 3 0. 1-4 M onoethylet her oi diethyleneglycol- 5. 0 3-10Diphenylannne Truce. 0. 01-0. 1

Example 2 Preferred Ranges of proportions proportions Jercent PercentMineral oil, #50 65 40-75 Sodium salt of mineral oil sull'onic 8Cld. 85-12 Potassium oleate 13 520 Tnethanolamine soap of oleic 9. 2 4-30Oleic acid 0. 3 0. 1-4 M oncbutylether oi diethyleneglycol- 4. 5 3-10Resorcinol Trac 0. 01-0 1 In practical use triethanolamine soap of oleicacid has proved to be very satisfactory, but the corresponding monoanddi-ethanolamine soaps may also be used. The latter two, however, may notbe employed with like advantage as the former. An objection against theuse of the monoand di-ethanolamine soaps is that the elimination ofsoaping or scouring before dyeing,

referred to herein, can not be so well obtained In preparing thecomposition when utilizing a solvent, for example monoethylether orbutylether of diethyleneglycol, as in Examples 1 and 2, it is preferableto dissolve the potassium soap of oleic acid (potassium oleate) in thesolvent before mixing the ingredients together, The solvents used shouldbe water free or substantially water free, and the remainingingredients, likewise should also be substantially water free at thetime the composition is made, if a clear product is to be prepared. Heatmay be employed to bring the ingredients into solution.

Fabrics, yarn, threads and filaments which have been coated orimpregnated with the composition of the present invention, either beforeor during the making of the fabric or other article, may be passed intothe dye bath or brought into contact with a dyeing liquid withoutpreliminary hot soaping, scouring or similar treatment, to remove thewinding oil composition or oil part thereof. The oil coating orimpregnating the fabric, yarn, threads or filaments on such direct entryof the oiled or lubricated material into a neutral or alkaline dye bathdoes not de-emulsify or break out as an oily liquid, even when the dyebath contains inorganic salts added for the sake of better exhaustion ofthe dye bath. Examples of such inorganic salts are sodium chloride andsodium sulphate. Thus the oil or components thereof does not float onthe top of the dye bath or prevent or decrease the dye absorption whenthe dye is in contact with the fabric, yarn or filament. The invention,therefore, also contemplates the dyeing of the fabric, yarn or filamentwithout previous removal, or substantial removal, therefrom of thewinding or coning oil composition by securing.

In treating yarns, threads or filaments which weaken when wetted out,such as yarns, threads or filaments of certain artificial materials, itis desirable that they be treated in the dry state with the compositionalso substantially free from water. Otherwise, the composition may beapplied to the material to be treated while it is more or less in a wetcondition and the composition applied to the material in this conditionmay or may not contain considerable water content. It is also within myinvention to apply the composition substantially free of water to asubstantially dry fabric, yarn, thread or filament for lubricating andprotecting them during various operations to which they maybeflsubjected in the textile industry, for example, weaving, knitting,braiding, winding or coning of threads or filaments.

Using an amine soap and alkali metal soap together in the composition asmore fully set forth in Examples 1 and 2 above, has been found inpractice to result in a composition of the characted described withexcellent properties as regards lubrication and protection, solubilityor emulsifying power, stability, nonimpairment of the dyeing process,appearance and odor of the product, elimination of washing or scouringdueto the rapid emulsification of the oil with water or salts-containingdye bath, prevention of adhesion of wound fibre or yarn, moistureproofing, and general applicability for the purposes intended.

The compositions described herein are usually employed between the timethe fibre is formed, for example fibres of viscose silk, and the timethe final product, such as woven fabric or knitted goods or otherarticle, is finished.

The terms lubricating, lubrication, or In bricating power used hereinare used to describe the property of the composition or other materialwhich protects the yarn threads or filaments by decreasing the frictionbetween them and the machine parts with which they come in contactand/or which decreases friction between yarn, threads, or filamentsthemselves.

This application has been divided and a divisional application filedMarch 23, 1934, Serial Number 717,114. This divisional application isdirected to that part of the invention which includes the treatment ofthe yarns, filaments and' the like with a lubricating composition andthereafter dyeing the materials without removal of the lubricatingagent. A continuing application in part has also been filed, SerialNumber.

ing such materials with a stable, homogeneous 20 solution consisting ofa mineral oil, an emulsifying agent-in an amount insufficient to inhibitthe lubricating propertiesof the mineral oil, additional emulsifying andlubricating agents including alkali metallic and organic base soaps, and25 a substantially anhydrous, hygroscopic solvent for the soaps, wherebysaid solvent ,also efl'ects a protection for the materials againstmoisture by absorbing any moisture which would normally form an emulsionwith the oils. a 30 2. A method of preparing natural and artificialthreads, filaments and the like for subsequent handling operations, 4which comprises treating such materials with a stable, homogeneoussolution consisting of a mineral oil, a min- 3 eral oil sulphonate in anamount insufficient to inhibit the lubricating properties of the mineraloil, additional emulsifying and lubricating agents including alkalimetallic and organic base soaps,

and a substantially anhydrous, hygroscopic sol- 40 vent for the soaps,whereby said solventalso effects a protection for the materials againstmoisture by absorbing any moisture which would normally form an emulsionwith the oils.

3. A method of preparing naturaland arti- 45 ficial threads, filamentsand the like for subsequent handling operations, which comprisestreating such materials with a composition con-- sisting of a mineraloil, a mineral oil sulphonate in an amount insufficient to inhibit thelubri- 50 eating properties of the mineral oil, additional emulsifyingand lubricating agents including alkali metallic and organic base soaps,and a solvent for the soaps of the class consisting of such materialswith'a composition consisting of g a mineral oil, a mineral oilsulphonate in an amount insufilcient to inhibit thelubricatingjproperties of the mineral oil, additional emulsiq fying and lubricatingagents including alkali metallic and aminesoaps of oleic acid, and asolvent for the' soaps of the, class consisting of monoethylether ofdiethylene glycol and 'mono- 5 butylether of diethylene glycol, saidsolvent also effecting a protection for the materials against moistureby absorbing any moisture which would --normally form an emulsion withthe oils, oleic acid and an antioxydizing agent. a 10 '5. A method ofpreparing natural and artificial threads. filaments and the like forsubsequent handling operations, which comprises treating the saidmaterials with a composition.

consisting of 40m 75% mineral oil, 5 to 12% 15 mineral oil sulphonate, 5to alkali metallic oleate, 4 to 30% amine soap of 'oleic acid, 3 to 10%of a solvent for the soaps of the class consisting of monoethylether ofdiethylene glycol and monobutylether of diethylene glycol, said solvent20 also eflecting a' protection for the materials against moisture byabsorbing any moisture which would normally form an emulsion with theoils, 0.1 to 4% oleic acid and less than 0.1%

of an antioxydizing agent of the class consisting of resorcinol anddiphenylamine.

6. A method of preparing natural and artificial threads, filaments, andthe like characterized by the fact that upon being applied to suchmaterials, the materials will be protected during subsequent handlingsuch as is involved during coning, twisting, transportation, reeling andsimilar treatments and the fact that the materialwiththe compositionthereon can be directly introduced into a dye bath and dyed thereby 3without realizing deleterious effects upon the dye bath, which comprisestreating the materials with a stable,ghomogeneous solution conan amountinsufiicient to inhibit the lubricating 40 properties of the mineraloil, an additional emulsifying and lubricating agent including alkalimetallic and organic base; soaps, and a substantially, anhydrous,hygroscopic solvent for the. soaps, whereby said solvent also acts toprevent stratification of the ingredients of the composition on thematerial as 'well as stratification of a dye bath. with which thecomposition may be contacted 'whereby to prevent the deleterious effectsnormally resulting from the absorption of moisture from the air.

7. Threads, filaments and the like to which has been applied, stable,homogeneous solution consisting of, a mineral oil, an emulsifying agentin an amount insuiflcient to inhibit the lubricating 50 properties ofthemineraltoil, additional emulsifying and lubricating agents includingalkali metallic and organic base soaps, and a substantially anhydrous,hygroscopic solvent for the soaps whereby the threads, filaments and thelike may be subjected to necessary textile handling operations incontact with moisture, without realizingany deleterious effectstherefrom,

' ALEIDUS G. BOUHU'YS.

